Liquid-testing device



C. HAGGSTROM. LIQUID TESTING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED Aue'z. 1920.

1 ,429, 1 3 6 Patented Sept. 12, 1922.

' 3 mum L130:

Charles J. Hag tram Patented SeptHIZ, 1922.

enemies J. irnees'rnoivr; on WARREN, rnnnsvnvn'nrnj LIQUID TES'IING DEVICE.

7 Application filed Augustfi, 1920. Serial K0 100335.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that, I, CHARLES J. Hass- STRO'M, a citizen of the United States, 'residing at Warren, in the county of Warren, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Liquid-Testing Devices; and'I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the'invention, such as will enable others skilled in the'art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvementsin devices known as testers,'which are employed for the purpose of taking samples of liquid,such as oil, from tank cars, storage tanks and other liquid containers.

One object of the invention is to generally improve upon devices of this class by producing one which is extremely effective in operation, the same including a plurality of vertically spaced automatically controlled valves which will permit the entrance of liquid to the container at various points, thus permitting an accurate test to be made of the different grades of liquid at different elevations. v y Y Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this class which includes novel valve actuating mechanism which is such that it will not agitate and unduly disturb the liquid in-'-which the test is being made.

I A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this class which includes a novel foldable extension which willpermit tests to be made at various intermediate points above the bottom of the con tainer'ortank in which the'liquid is stored, this extension being advantageous because it is always ready for use, and whennot in use is entirely out of the way.

, A still further object of the invention is to produce a testing device of the type above mentioned which is made up of comparatively few strong and inexpensive parts, which are readily disconnectible for repa ring and cleaning. i

Other ob'eots and advantages'of the inventionflwill be ap arent during the course of the following description. i

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and-inwhich like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same:

' Figure 1 is a front elevation of a device 1, looking in the direction 'of'the arrows. f

constructed in accordance with my invention, the same being shown in ineffective position.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, disclos ing the. valves and their actuating mecha nism more clearly.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken on the plane of the line 3-3 ofxFig.

i Fig. t. is a top plan-view. v i

Fig. 5 is ahorizontal'sectional view taken on the line 5-5 0f Fig. 1.- I .Fig. 6 is a detail view .of'the lower portion of the device showing the extension in operative position.

- In carrying out my invention I employ p a closed container provided with means forobserving the contents thereof from the exterior, it'being also provided with a port which is closed by means of a'rotary valve,

this valve being actuated by means of a crank armwhich is connected tovit and to an actuating rod which is designed to engage the;.bottom of the valve. i

Referring to the drawings, wherein the preferred embodiment of myinvention is clearly shown, the numeral 1 designates,"as a whole, the container which is normally closed atits opposite ends, thatis, the lower end is permanently closed, 'butfthe upper end is closed by a' removable screw-cap .2

the tank for Op n which permits acces'sto be had to the interior for cleaning. This container may .be made in various ways, it being preferably constructed in the manner shown, that'is, the two. side walls 3 and bottom i are made within one piece, and the other two side walls are closed by pieces of isinglass 5 or other transparent material which is ,held' in place by means of the frame like me'mbers 6, which may, if desired be provided with graduation's 7 in order to enable the user to determine the amounthof liquid in the container and also to assist him'in deloo termining-how much water and how. much oil is in the container. Formed in one of the sidewalls 3 is one. or more openings,

therepreferably being a plurality of'these openings and they being vertically spaced. Fitting into these openings and provided with inlet ports. are plates'8 which are contrally" apertured to provide bearings forthe crank arms 9 which extend therethrough,

being connected at their inner ends togrotary valves 10, thus serving to actuate the latter. In order to retain the valves in tight contact with the plates 8, l' surround. the arms 9 between the plates 8 and shoulders 11 with coiled springs 12. F or the purpose of imparting movement to the crank arms and in turn operating the Valves, 1 make use of novel means which causes the valves to open when it engages the bottom of the liquid containing tank and automatically closes the valves, due to its weight, as soon as it is elevated and raised from engagement with said tank. This means comprises a relatively heavy rod 13 which is positioned on valved side of the casing or container and is longitudinally movable with respect to the latter, this rod being provided with vertically spaced holes 14 to which the laterally turned outer ends of the crank arms 9 are fitted and permitted to rotate, these arms being retained in 0perative connection with this rod by means of nuts 15. This rod also carries small spring clips 16 adjacent at its opposite ends, which serve to retain an extension 17 in in effective position in one instance and in ef fective position in the other instance, I wish to emphasize the fact that the employmentof this extension is extremely advantageous in view of the fact that it enables me to test oil at various intermediate points in the tank. At this point I wish to mention that suitable means for suspending the device and lowering it into the liquid will be employed, this means being intended to be connected to the apertured ears 18 which, in this instance are carried by the closing cap 2-.

The operation of the device is as follows: Vi e will assume that the liquid to be tested is oil, and this oil is contained within a stor-' age tank and it is desired to determine just how much water is in the 011 at various elevations and to determine the condition of the oil as to whether it contains water 'or not. To this end, the suspending means, (not shown) is connected to the ears 18, and the container is lowered into the liquid until the lower end of the valve actuating rod 13 engagesthe bottom of the tank. The rod will then become stationary and the contain'er will still move down toward the bottom of the tank, causing the crank arms to move to a positionsimilar to that indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. This action of parts will rotate the valves 10 and will cause the openings therein to register with the ports in the bearing plates 8, thus admitting the liquid to the container. The container then being filled with liquid is raised and the bar 13, which is of considerable weight, still remains in the same position and causes the valves to close and remain closed. Then the container may be taken out of the tank, and the test he made to determine just how much water is in the oil or what the condition of the oil is, as the case may be. In case it is desired to make a test of the oil at points intermediate the bottom and top of the tank, this may be done by making use of the e:-; tension arm 17 which may be swung down and into the clip 16 at the lower end of the rod 13 as indicated in Fig. 6. When this extension is in this position, it will be seen that the increased length of the actuatng rod will permit tests to be made at the points mentioned.

A liquid tester constructed in accordance with my invention is extremely advantageous in use, and it is also novel in construe tion as is apparent from the foregoing description. As before stated, the construction of the container itself is such that it consists of few parts which are readily disconnectible for thepurpose of repairing and cleaning. It is not necessary to take it apart in order to gain access to the interior for cleaning, etc., since the removable cap will permit this result to be obtained. Another feature to be considered is the valves and their actuating mechanism, which is such that it automatically'opens and closes them in unison and does not create undue disturbance of the liquid being'tested. The valves open and close automatically and very easily, it being necessary only to lower the container until the valve actuating rod strikes the bottom of the tank or other support. The employment of the extension is also a feature of construction to be noted since'it enables tests to be made at intermediate points in the tank. Neither is the strong durable and rigid simple construction of the device to be overlooked, because this insures long usage and renders the device inexpensive to both the manufacturer and the user.

' While T have described my testingdevice as being used for testing oil. I do not desire it tobe limited to this particular use, since it will effectively serve as a tester for any other kinds of liquid. Also, I do not wish to be limited to the exact construction of the container such as shown and described.

A careful consideration of the foregoing description taken in connection with the ac companying drawings will enable persons skilled in the art to'which this invention relates to obtain a clear understanding of the same, therefore, further description is deemed unnecessary.

I It isto' be understood that the form of my invention herein show'n'and described is to be taken as a preferred form of the same, and that various minor changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of parts may be re sorted to without-departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. A liquid testing device comprising a container closed at its lower end and having inlet openings in its sides and spaced vertically of the container, closures for the inlet openings including movable closure elements and actuating stems for the same provided with crank portions, and an operating rod extending longitudinally of the container and engaged by the crank portions of the actuating stems whereby said rod may constitute weight means normally retaining the closure elements in a closed position and when moved upwardly simultaneously move the closure elements to an open position.

2. A liquid testing device comprising a closed container provided in one side with a plurality of vertically spaced openings, ro-

tary valves for closing the openings, an actuating rod for the valves, and crank arms between the latter and rod, whereby when the container is lowered in the tank and the lower end of said rod engages the bottom, the valves will be opened and vice versa.

3. The structure set forth in claim 2, the crank arms being arranged in parallelism and having operative connection at one end with said valve, and pivotal connection at their opposite ends with said rod.

In testimonv whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

CHARLES J. HAGGSTROM. 

